After the changeling was securely put away in the brig, Hawkins and Summers made their way to the bridge. Hawkins walked out of the turbolift first and walked over to take his seat.

Kendra walked in right behind him. "Doc, report! Why in hell was I being tossed around like a rag doll?"

Christopher looked up with a grin on his face, "It could have been something to do with the broken Akira class vessel off our starboard bow. We had a slight disagreement about our chances of survival. Have a look for yourself."

On the view screen was one of the Section 31 recon ships that Gantz had sent to destroy them. He was growing to hate his former friend more and more as the days went on. Westley had forgotten one thing over his absence from the brotherhood: Don't piss off a former ally.

"Okay, Doc, I tell you what. We'll take it from here. You get down there and get us a cure fast. I have no desire to be blown to bits today, but neither do I want die from this damn virus."

"I'll do my best. Oh, you might want to talk with Captain Soto, he might be a little upset that I snapped off one of his nacelles." Christopher said. "Plus he'll be really upset about the fact that a mere doctor managed to knock seven shades of crap out of his ship."

"I agree." Hawkins said and tossed a glance to Ki. "Open channel."

Kendra took her seat next to Hawkins. She gave the okay to Ki and sat back to watch the show. That, and try not to let this damn fever make her faint.

"This is Major Curtis Hawkins, of the starship Apocalypse. I heard that you were treating our doctor in a very disrespectful manner. Is it because he was standing up to a man who was threatening to kill us?"

"I'm only following orders, Major." he replied. "I'm sure you can respect that."

Hawkins nodded in agreement. "I can respect that, Captain. But I won't like it. I'm sure you know what capabilities this vessel has."

"I'm quite aware, Major."

Hawkins smiled. "Good," he said.

Without missing a beat, Kendra tapped her panel on her chair. The other captain, Soto, was very clearly confused. That is, until the familiar hum of a transporter filled the air and a shimmer appeared on their bridge. The security guards on the other ship immediately pulled weapons and aimed it at the newcomer.

"Hello Mr. Hollins, how are you this fine morning?" Hawkins asked in an amused tone.

Steve turned around and waved at the viewscreen. "I'm just dandy. Hey, did you know that their bridge is much bigger than ours? I'm jealous."

"What is the meaning of this?!" Soto demanded.

"The doctor had a great idea from what I was told, but I don't feel like being killed right yet. Doc on the other hand...he's pretty twisted in that sense, so he'd play doctor death just to destroy a peon like yourself." Hawkins said. "As you can see, Mr. Hollins is infected with the virus, hence all of you are now infected with the virus. But back to the point. Go ahead and kill us if you want, because I know that S31 will be sending a ship after you shortly."

Kendra smiled. "So, you see, Captain, by destroying us you destroy yourself. And something tells me that that little thing called self-preservation is just about to kick in..."

Soto when completely pale. "How dare you---?" he began.

Hawkins looked at Summers and then back to Soto with a smile on his face. "No sir, how dare you!"

Summers leaned forward to prop her elbows on her knees. "So, Cappy, what will it be? Give us a little bit longer, or destroy us along with your only chance of survival?" She looked at him with a little grin.

There was muffled voices from the background and Soto turned to see what the commotion was. "Get out of my chair!" he bellowed.

Kendra focused on the background and saw Steve had made himself perfectly at home on the bridge of the other ship. He was sitting in the command chair, with one leg hanging over the armrest. "Steve," she said warningly. "You are guest over there. Don't make your host angry. You might not get invited back.

He stood. "I'm sorry," he said. He walked to the front of the bridge and stood at attention right in front of the view screen.

"Now," Kendra started again, addressing the captain once again. She looked at him curiously. "You know, you might want to have that vein in your forehead checked out. It looks swollen, like it might burst...."

Soto turned an even deep shade of purple and cut the screen. She looked over to Hawkins. "You think that was 'Okay, you have more time'?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. At times he thought he was such a badass by being able to keep his cool so well. "Probably. Unless we get blown up by surprise in the next few minutes."

====================

Christopher walked into sickbay to be confronted by Amanda wheeling a breathing unit across the floor. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Terry is having difficulties breathing. Some of the bio bed systems were damaged during the fight. He's not going to last much longer." Replied Amanda quietly.

Christopher sighed, "He's the last of them, isn't he? The last of the Pegasus crew."

Amanda merely nodded.

"Guess we didn't do so well on this one Amanda. How's Molly?" He asked.

"She's going to be fine, she's still a little bit groggy, but she's awake." Replied Amanda.

"Kendra, it's Terry, he's nearly gone. Better get down here, better make it quick." Christopher said sympathetically. He hated to lose another patient. Every one of the Pegasus' crew had died except for Terry. Christopher's medical team had failed their part of the original mission and that upset Christopher more than he let on.

=/ Be right there. \=

"Understood, I'll be right here with him until you arrive." He turned to Natalya, "How's it coming?"

The EMH stood upright from the bio-molecular sequencer, "The anti-virus is ready for distribution and mass replication." Christopher could see the expression in her eyes. 'Empathy from an EMH' he thought, 'that's not part of the program.'
"Start the replication and administer it to all crew. I'll co-ordinate with engineering to administer it throughout the entire ship then have the details of it sent over to the Hermes' CMO." Said Christopher, moving over to Terry's side adjusting the ventilator settings.

Natalya merely nodded and went back to her console.

"Sickbay to Engineering."

=/ Engineering, Crewman Davies \=

"Davies, this is the Doc. We've got the antivirus ready for dispersal throughout the ship. Can you send someone over to collect it?"

=/ Dubois will be up on the double sir. \=

"Thanks Davies." Christopher said turning to Terry and pressing a hypo to his neck, "Terry, this will ease the pain slightly. Kendra's on her way to see you. I want you to understand something. The virus in your body has done too much damage. Your nanites were repairing the damage at first, but they have burnt out. We can't cure you. I've tried everything but I can't do any more."

Terry seemed to sense Christopher's frustration and laid his hand over the doctor's and patted it gently. "Thanks Doc, I understand." He gasped between breaths.

They both sat for a while, neither saying a word, words would have been meaningless, until the doors to sickbay hissed open and Kendra walked in.

She laid a hand on Christopher's shoulder, "It's okay Doc, I'll sit with him now, you go and save the ship, again." She smiled.

Christopher nodded slowly and walked into his office to make his log entry and oversee the administration of the antivirus.

"Computer, begin recording Chief Medical Officers log, supplemental. Someone will pay for this." He switched the log off and went to see Dubois, who was waiting in the main room.

====================

Kendra walked wearily into her quarters. "Computer, lights," she called out and the room was immediately illuminated. Pig squawked in annoyance at being awakened. "Sorry," she said and went over to his cage and unlocked it. He happily climbed out and to the top of his cage.

Kendra, on the other hand, wasn't so happy. She flopped down on her couch and threw her arm over her face. She let out a great big sigh and just laid there, motionless, for a long time. Even Pig began to get worried. He stepped to the edge of his cage and peered down at her, looking for any movement. Then Kendra kicked off her shoes and startled him. The next thing Kendra knew, the bird was on her head, stuck in the mass of curls that she liked to call hair. She moved her arm and rolled her eyes upward to look at her pet. He was staring right back at her. "You know, you aren't supposed to be there," she told him. He just chirped at her.

She put her hand to his belly and picked him up, moving him in front of her. She whistled at him, then put the animal on her stomach where he immediately made himself comfortable. "At least you still like me," she smiled and reached out to pet him. He opened his mouth to nibble on her, letting her know that he didn't want to be touched. "Et tu, Pig?"

Sighing, she put her hands behind her head and left the bird alone, letting him preen himself in peace. "Computer, begin Commander's Log, Stardate whatever the hell it is. The crew of the Apocalypse has been through a lot these past several days, both mentally and physically. Physically, our bodies have been wracked with a fast moving virus that nearly killed us all and now our bodies are dealing with the fast moving cure. Needless to say, most of us are still recovering from the shock to the system.

"Mentally... I have a feeling that some of us will be recovering for a long time from this one, if we can ever recover. The entire crew of the Pegasus died, succumbing to the virus or the paranoia that plagued them before we reached them. The virus had progressed into a stage that we could find no cure for in time. From what I understand, Doctor Cushing has developed a complete antidote now, but not before it was too late." Kendra paused, steadying herself before moving on.

"We sent the antidote over to the Hermes. They were extremely grateful," she deadpanned. "We also destroyed the Pegasus. But, before we did, we downloaded their computer logs, to see if we could find out exactly what happened. From what we've been able to piece together, it looks like the Changeling was posing as the ship's doctor. He altered the virus meant for the Borg so that it would effect regular....organic....beings long before it even got to the Borg. O'Conner was designed to be the carrier, but he, too, eventually succumbed to its effects.

"Hawkins and I had a briefing with Gantz and Walken via subspace. We're underway to rendezvous with the Section 31 station. Again. They've promised us a much needed mini vacation aboard. We'll see if they deliver. Computer, end Commander's Log."

Kendra shifted on the couch, disturbing Pig. He hissed at her. "Oh, hush," she told him. She sat up fully now, really irritating the bird. He decided that he had enough of her movement and flew back to his cage to finish preening up there. Kendra rolled her eyes and propped up on a pillow. Now was time for ranting.

"Computer, begin Commander's Personal Log. We're all wrecked. Between contracting a deadly virus and then being cured of the deadly virus, I'm surprised that our bodies haven't ripped apart yet. I feel so tired and drained, and I was just in the beginning stages of the damn thing! I can't even imagine what SEAL Team 2 is going through right now. They were the first ones to contract it and, therefore, were in more advanced stages than the majority of the crew. I'm surprised they didn't cross the threshold of no return.

"It's gonna take us a long time to recover from this, I think. Some of us will not ever recover. Lt Miguel Chandra was found dead in his quarters, murdered by the changeling and Lt Reina Thorne’s body was discovered in Jeffries tube 27, again, killed by the changeling. Some of the crew have requested transfers already and they've been granted, already," she said somewhat bitterly. But it wasn't directed towards them.

"Can't say that I blame them, really. I'm not too fond of this ship at the moment, myself. We figured out that the Changeling infected Terry so that he would kill everyone else long before he got to the Borg. The plan was to have him walk around and infect more people before his own defenses finally gave in, but his nanites burned out faster than they anticipated. I'll give him one thing, he hung in there as long as he could; he was the last surviving member of the Pegasus. But he just couldn't hold on..." she paused, her voice cracking a little.

"It's funny, really. I never thought I would see him again. Ever. Part of me has been so pissed off with him over that past two years. I mean, things were going relatively well and then I woke up one morning and he was gone. I didn't even know it until I got to my office that morning and checked over the arrival and departure report. The stupid ass didn't even say goodbye. And, well, it destroyed my trust in people. Not that I had a whole to begin with... Being a security officer you tend not to have much trust. But to have someone betray it like that once they had gained it.... Screwed me up for a long time. But then he came back.... And the pain started to tug at me all over again.”

"But then something really weird happened," she said, laughing bitterly a little. "I realized that I haven't been hanging all over him, holding onto that one thread of hope that he would come back. No, I got over him a long time ago and I just didn't realize it. I was using him as an excuse not to get close to anyone. Not to be hurt again. It's not that I think he's trash or anything. He was still considered a friend. I was with him at the end. He was awake and semi coherent when I first got there, and he told me how sorry he was. That he wished he could have made things right between us. Then he fell asleep, and he never woke up."

Kendra stopped, and stared at the floor for a moment. So much had happened.... "And then that brings me to Taylor. He was the reason that I came to the conclusion that I had gotten over Terry many moons ago. He was the reason that I finally came to terms with myself. And now he won't even talk to me. He's pissed over the fact that I was with the Borg in the first place. How ironic is this? I finally realize that I'm done with Terry and the man I do love is the one hung up on it now. Terry right in the middle, again.

"Hawkins and I talked with Gantz and Walken. We yelled, they yelled, we sulked, they promised us a party. Yes, it seems that they are going to throw us an all-expenses paid party on that lovely Space Station of theirs. In the bar, the entire crew can have anything they want, and it's all on their tab. I don't know about anyone else, but I plan on running up that tab as best as I can. Life sucks right now and I need a little playtime. Computer, end Commander's Personal Log."

The computer beeped in compliance and Kendra held onto her pillow tightly and let out a big sigh. Pig had stopped his preening and was staring at her again. He chirped quietly at her. She looked up and smiled. "At least I still have you," she said as she rose from the couch and moved over to him. She picked him up and started to pet him. He held still and seemed content...

...For all of two minutes. Then he turned his back on her and started hanging off the end of her finger trying to get to the food dish. She rolled her eyes and put him down allowing him to get what he wanted. He plunged his head into his seed then looked back up at her as he cracked open a sunflower seed. Kendra turned around and started walk to her bedroom, much to Pig's dismay. He squawked at her.

So, that's the end of Chapter 2. Thank you for sticking with the crew of the USS Apocalypse through their second adventure. I have a couple more installments written so I'll drip feed them after taking a little break. Please feel free to DM and let me know what you enjoyed, favourite character etc. I don't bite and I love talking about the little slice of the Star Trek universe that I write about.

I have read every one and enjoyed all of them. I'm really big on characters. How they talk, act, feel, think, motivations, everything. The environment and things around them are there to bring out the characters, which was done very well.

I have said it before, but Welshavenger needs a publish to snatch him up.

By far, I think my favorite character is Kendra with Chris Cushing a very close second. I think what pushed me more into Kendra's camp was her complexity and vulnerability. Chris, even as a Doctor is a total great guy who can be a bad ass when pushed to be "that guy". Definitely don't want to be on his bad side, yet it is easy to be on his good side (unless you are a total $*@&!). Yet, Kendra had not only the professional complexity but the personal relations ones brought about by Taylor and Terry. That really threw the doors open wide and one could really see/feel/understand her struggles. Yet going through it, she did so with dignity and kept her wits about her.

I was very sad about Miguel and Reina. I was becoming attached to them for various reasons. Miguel for his good nature and regular guy. He was a great foil that represented normalcy among the more colorful personalities. Reina was quite likeable and interesting personality. Her quirkiness and her never give-up attitude when faced with a difficult situation. Their end did hit the 'feels box', I will admit.

Steve... I really like this guy as a supporting character. Great straight man but knows when to put on the humor and when to be all business. I'm happy he survived. Every scene with him in it were among my favorites.

The idea and concept of Terry, as a bio-weapon against the borg is something I can totally see S31 doing. How it back-fired is also something that could very well happen. That changeling, I hate (Miguel and Reina RIP) and hope it gets poked/prodded/and is miserable for the rest of its days in a test tube.

Overall I would rate this story among my favorites along with some of the "A Time to..." Star Trek series books.

Wow, thank you Silynn, it's difficult for me to reconcile what I do as a 'spare time' hobby as something to be taken seriously. But ranking it among your favourites with proper authors? I'm truly speechless. I don't really like killing characters, because it's a little bit like killing a part of yourself that you've created but occasionally bad guys need to be bad and heroes die tragically. Doesn't mean I don't feel sad too at their unfulfilled potential.

Here's the thing: killing off characters is actually good for writer development. It strengthens other characters and (should) free your creativity

Great point and I would have to agree. Though it may sting, it does enhance the story and other characters. Now that Scarlett mentioned it, I can think of a few examples of characters that were very much liked but met a sudden and shocking end.